My flashcard of choice. The large raw files that the 5d Mark II produces necessitate significant flashcard space. The Extreme III series is just as fast as the more expensive Extreme IV series for RAW shooting on the 5d Mark II. This flashcard has a wide functional range with regard to ambient temperature. 250 full resolution shots per card.

I used to have this fast prime in my kit but have been leaving it home lately because I found that I simply was not using it, opting instead for 40mm or 70mm focal lengths. This is a really exceptional lens, though not weather-sealed and employing a somewhat outdated autofocus ring (sometimes old-school is not so cool).

This extender converts the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens to a 100-300mm f/5.6, with minimal sacrifice in image quality. Autofocus is maintained. I'll use the extender for macro work or for capturing wildlife from a distance. Between a 300mm lens and the cropping capabilities with a 21.1 megapixel file, you'll be able to photograph anything you see without having a tote around a ginormous 500mm prime.

The circular polarizer, one of the few filters essential to a digital kit. This particular one is multi coated to minimize flare and is extra thin to work with the 17mm focal length of the 17-40mm f/4L. The polarizer reduces glare and reflection and creates brilliant skyscapes on partially cloudy days.

This filter aids in landscape photography by enabling differential exposure of two parts of an image. While a normal shot of a sunset will either overexpose the sky or underexpose the foreground, this filter can allow for a metering of the foreground while covering the part of the lens viewing the sky with a .6 n.d. filter to reduce incoming light and even the exposure. Soft version recommended.

A quality step up ring to allow the 70-200mm f/4L IS to thread the same 77mm filters used for the 17-40mm f/4L.

Optional, but useful if you want to leave the step up ring on the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens or the 50mm f/1.4 lens all the time.

A very stable ball head for the Manfrotto 190 tripod. Easily supports the maximum combination of weight in this kit. The ball head allows for rapid composition adjustments with the turn of only one knob.

Also available in green and blue. This bag can hold all this gear and still have room for keys, a wallet, a water bottle, and some other essentials. This bag is great because it keeps all of your equipment accessible in less than 5 seconds. I sometimes will couple this bag with a backpack on longer hikes and can carry both with ease.